Robey’s RVA Wellness Pick-Me-Up Picks

Robey Martin is a food and beverage writer in Richmond, Virginia. She is also a Marco Style accomplice: when we get together, you don’t know what will happen, but there’s a good chance bubbly will be involved.

You never now where or when Robey Martin might break into a handstand.

This weather makes me crazy; my sinuses are wonky due to pollen, my head is out of wack because of the wildly fluctuating temperatures (and retrograde planetary alignment). To add insult to weather-related injury, it’s the start of event season—everything’s happening at once, so my anxiety level has shot through the roof.

Eating healthy and being mindful of my own self-care tends to take a backseat even though now is when I need a metaphorical neck and temple massage (or a real one!) more than most. It is necessary to resort to some quick fixes. Perhaps you’d like to give them at try, too. All these wellness picks have lasting benefits and won’t put a huge strain on your bank account so you can continue to save for a relaxing vacation.

Hop into an infrared sauna at Purify

Purify has a new client deal that is perfect for the individual who isn’t so certain about dry heat and the benefits. Two weeks (one session per day) of heat for $99.00 might be just the ticket to shake off some Spring doldrums. Additional reported perks can include better sleep and an increase in metabolic rate. Sounds good to me—it’s soon to be bikini season. Let’s heat ourselves toward a two piece.

Get to Juicing

Well, not really. Most juices (or juicing packages) have far too much sugar for me—I end up bouncing off the wall from the exponential amount of pineapple juice and the “aftercrash” isn’t pretty. Saadia’s Juice Box has an appealing variety conspicuously without pineapple (save one). But I go for the shots and shooters. In a younger life, that sentence meant something different to me. Shoot back two immunity shots with a chaser of wheatgrass and expect decidedly not the same morning-after feeling (and it’s cheaper than a bar tab —the three together cost about $10.)

Grab an elixir

I literally have never used the word ‘elixir’ till this year—now I cant stop using it and consuming them. I blame Boketto Wellness. The new wellness boutique on Vine Street has a natural cure for whatever ails you. I lean toward the Moon Juice line with their Beauty Dust, an herbal supplement that contains immunity food and pearl powder to help your skin “glow” from the inside and Spirit Dust, a mood stabilizing formula.

Jelena Nikolajevic, the shop’s owner, is more than happy to provide advice on how to make an elixir from these supplements or multiple others. (Moon Juice also offers a Sex Dust… if that’s an angle you’d like to explore.)

Hit the mat at Humble Haven

I am a massive proponent of yoga. The majority of my clothing is comfort-based—just in case I feel an hour of stretching or good intentions coming on. My yoga practice started pretty bumpy; I was a little out of place in a lot of studios. That all changed when I found Humble Haven Yoga. The studio is crazy small and everyone is (or was) just like me. The cool thing about the studio (right now) is the new beginner classes. They are a six class sitch that lets us newbie “yogurts” get some footing before we launch into a birds-of-paradise pose with no foundation. (Trust me, I took one for the team. It isn’t pretty and it doesn’t feel good.) Your first month is $50.

Ask Robey and she’ll probably escort you to your first Humble Haven class.

Freeze it out

If it sounds a little futuristic, that’s because it looks and feels it. Invigorate Cryotherapyuses nitrogen vapor to freeze your body into triggering natural healing. Picture an ice bath. Now get that out of your mind. Cryosaunas offer the benefits of that uncomfortable tub of cold therapy in minutes and you stay dry. Your first session is $30, which seems on the pricier end but promises a whole wealth of benefits that traditional muscle therapies take months to supply.